Our team was born and raised in Los Angeles so we’ve seen the city transform over time, especially when it comes to the food scene including the sushi revolution that took place in the late 1980s where epic chefs (Katsuya, Nozawa, Nobu Matsuhisa and others) opened sushi restaurants in Los Angeles at a time when sushi and eating raw fish was very foreign; yet look at where we are today.

Fun fact before digging into the meat/fish of this post, due to the innovators mentioned above in Los Angeles – and in particular sushi restaurants on Ventura Boulevard – the San Fernando Valley transformed into one of the top sushi hubs in the U.S. with Studio City being known as “Sushi Row” now. Essentially, a true hub where sushi originated before taking over the world and we experienced/ate that first-hand.

Fast forward, at a time when Ventura has sushi restaurants on almost every corner and sushi is trending in some of the most remote areas we could have never imagined, how can a sushi restaurant compete today on social media in the most competitive markets? Let’s dig into that.

First and foremost, when it comes to social media marketing for sushi restaurants it’s all about showcasing the food in the most epic way possible. That one picture of beautiful nigiri someone stumbles upon while browsing Instagram can lead to a good margin tomorrow when they force themselves to dine at your restaurant, and you have to plan for that: The value of having a content strategy, epic photos/videos while strategically working with real influencers.

Secondly, and one of the biggest failures we see in social media marketing today is forgetting to actually be social. Either you’re communicating with valued customers as friends and a resource to help them or running ads that are strictly aimed at extracting money from customers, but don’t blend the two. There’s a time and place for everything, and the hospitality industry is quite literally the opposite of that.

Lastly, don’t get lost in the trends and follow others to hopefully ride a wave that makes your restaurant successful. Whether looking at the best sushi restaurants on Ventura in LA or why certain restaurants receive Michelin stars it all boils down to a variety of factors and what matters most to you. What makes you unique, new specials, etc. set you apart from the crowd to the point where you lead the pack vs following it.

And if you need help on that journey we got your back! After guiding the biggest companies in the world for nearly 20 years we learned a few things.